Bitter Regrets
by ts-dotcom
Summary: So, we have Jack and Kate and the rest of the survivors - but they're not that important. Anways, we all know they will eventually hook up and do the deed, but what happens when, out of the spur of a moment, Kate is found in the arms of Sawyer? R&R please
1. Jealousy

Tears are the most powerful emotion a person can give out. They reveal your deepest feelings, the times when you are most vulnerable, and are the only physical proof of your thoughts.

It's been a long time since he had cried and as he stood idly by, watching Sawyer shamelessly flirt with Kate, it was the first time in forever since he actually felt a need to let it out. It was too much. Everyone was looking up to him, looking for guidance, looking for salvation, looking for _something_. And it was all he could do to keep from breaking down. The weariness showed in his eyes but he knew that the instant he allowed his emotions to present itself would be the moment fear took hold of the remaining survivors.

Just moments before, he had been packing the fish up for the caves when he – regrettably, caught a glance of the two. There she was, sitting on a log, talking to the criminal. Although she was one herself, Jack had overlooked her history, opting for who she was now. He had allowed Sawyer the same break, but it was all thrown back in his face accompanied by a sarcastic one-liner. He grounded his teeth together and watched on, in spite of the pain.

There was obvious ease and comfort evident on their faces as the fire in front flickered on and off. She was content with Sawyer. What was there to complain about? He was handsome, charming, and athletic. Jack knew she would be happy with Sawyer; there was no doubt about it. But it wasn't the fact that they were flirting; it was the fact that she would rather stay at the beach then come to the safety of the caves. Call it hope, call it ambition, but Jack knew that it only played a part in the reason why she was down there.

The doctor stood there for a moment longer before he shook his head and trotted back into the caves.

x

Numbed, Jack let out a small sigh as he sat down next to Hurley. The feelings gone, the urges gone, all he was left with was his confident doctor façade. Truth be told, he was as scared as the rest of them but he was the only trained physician and that meant responsibilities. "Hurley, you need some protein. I have fish in my backpack; Jin caught 'em."

"No man, I shouldn't. You haven't eaten much and you look -"

"Just take them."

"Oh dude, thank you so much. I'm starving out here." Giving into temptation, Hurley ripped into Jack's backpack just as his stomach let out a long groan for food. He picked up a stick and hastily speared a fish with it. Soon, the process of cooking was well on its way and Hurley had begun rambling to Jack. "So there's Skywalker stuck in a death grip with Darth and all of the sudden -" He glanced over at Jack and noticed the way he nodded his head, almost in a trance, and the way he was staring into the fire as if contemplating the meaning of life or … thinking about that special someone. "I'm having sex with Kate."

Startled out of his mind, Jack rubbed his eyes and looked at Hurley with a frown. "K-Kate? What about Kate?"

"Oh man, I'm not even going to start. You obviously have it in for her." Lightly touching the morsel, the bigger man took a chunk of the fish.

"What? No, Hurley. Kate and I have a very professional relationship right now. I'm a doctor and I have to be concerned for her health and everyone else's but that doesn't mean I have it in for her because I don't." Jack had said it with more of an edge than he had hoped for. Damn, he needed to get better at lying.

Hurley stared at him before letting out a guffaw. "Yeah, and I'm the skinniest man on the island. Anyway, I'm going off to bed dude. You should too, you look exhausted."

Hurley stood up and walked to his corner of the cave while Jack glumly sat by, staring into the flames for a few moments longer before turning in himself. Just a little bit of sleep, he'll allow himself just a little bit of sleep…

I do not own any of the characters and/or Lost. I wish I had the brain capacity to create such a wonderful show, but as it turns out, I do not. SO, Read and review please.


	2. Call for the Doctor

(x)

"… _You just don't have what it takes." The older surgeon looked down at his son and lectured him about 'having what it takes.' In his eyes, Jack wasn't a leader. He had too big of a heart and so, he often put people before himself - a fine quality in a man but not in a leader. "What. Are you going to cry now?"_

_Keeping his eyes trained to the ground, Jack softly shook his head and mumbled, "No, sir."_

"_Good. Now go get cleaned up before dinner." A sip of whiskey and a twitch of his brow, he remained on his high throne, watching as his son, his student, his failure padded his way down the hall._

(x)

"Jack. Jack! Come on, wake up Jack!"

Groggy, Jack fluttered his eyelids open for a second to recognize the familiar outline of

Charlie.

"Jack! Come on, you bloody bloke. I think something's wrong with Claire!"

At that last sentence, Jack bolted upright and looked at Charlie through blurry eyes. "What?"

"It's Claire. I think there's something wrong with her."

"Damn it." Before Charlie had even finished his sentence, Jack was well on his way to Claire. The fear was gone, replaced by the face of a hero or rather in this case … the face of a doctor.

It was minutes before he had reached her; Claire was bent in a sitting position with her hand lightly pressing against her eight month due belly. Quick short breaths forced its way in and out of her lungs, threatening to cut off both her and her baby's supply of oxygen. Her face was damp with perspiration and as Kate crouched beside her, his heart skipped a beat and his breath lodged in his throat; as if his job wasn't hard enough.

"What's wrong?" He glanced over at Kate, waiting for an answer as bottles among bottles of pills, alcohol, and what have you poured onto the ground. The trained physician fumbled in his pack for a rag and a bottle of water.

"I don't know. Charlie called Boone and Boone woke me up. Is she alright?"

"I don't know." Jack turned back to Claire and felt her temple before handing the cloth and water over to Kate. "Keep dabbing her head with it." Kate dribble some water onto the old fabric and began moistening Claire's forehead while Jack tilted Claire's chin up to get a good look at her face. "Claire. Claire, look at me. What's wrong?"

"I-I ca-can't br- eath."

"This started a few minutes ago, she just started breathing heavily and sweating a lot. Is she gonna be alright?" Charlie looked on with concern as his form blocked the thin wisps of sunlight just peaking over the horizon. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Charlie, you're going to have to give me some space. I don't know yet." Without missing a beat, Jack looked up at Boone and ordered like a commander, no – a leader. "Boone, I need you to go to my duffle bag beside the stream and find a small flashlight. And I need you to bring it to me."

"Alright. Flashlight, duffle bag. Flashlight, duffle bag." Boone ran off towards Jack's sleeping quarters only to have Charlie replace his spot, keeping his silence yet offering his support.

The doctor's gaze again rested on Claire as he worked the same tactic he had with Shannon. "Claire, I need you to look at me. Okay? Look at me. Remember what I did with Shannon, those breathing exercise? I'm going to need you to do the same. Alright? Breath, breath through your nose. Just like this." He demonstrated what he needed Claire to do, but as luck would have it, she struggled in vain. "No no no, in through the nose, like what I'm doing. You can do it. Yeah, there you go. Perfect, keep it going. Inhale … Okay. Good."

Boone arrived moments later with the flashlight and panted softly. "Here."

"Thanks." Jack took it with gratitude and swiftly shone the light at Claire's eyes; watching with relief as her pupils responded properly to the changing stimuli. Having accomplished his job, he called Boone and Charlie apart to keep a watch over her. "Okay, you guys are going to need to stay with her. Her baby probably kicked harder than usual, triggering the anxiety attack. You need to keep her relaxed. Do not let her panic."

* * *

I do not own any of the characters and/or anything I may have mentioned here. 


	3. Apple Patch

"Jack."

"Oh, hey Kate." Jack grinned at her and slipped on his pack. Just a few hours ago, he had practically saved a woman's life and as he was a strong believer in karma, he intended on spending an hour or two hiking and exploring the wild.

"Where're you going?" She stood there with her own backpack and writings scribbled across her face, writings unbeknownst to him. She was very fond of him herself, more so than she was of Sawyer. Sawyer was just a roll in the hay, a one night stand, not that it had happened, but the way she viewed the two was completely different.

"I'm about to go hiking. You free for an hour or two?"

"Why, are you asking me on a date?"

He hesitated a moment before the ghost of a smile floated across his features. "That depends, does it mean a yes?"

"Depends? Depends on what?" She already knew the answer; it was, of course, a yes. There was no doubt about it; Kate just liked to drag it out. _Come on Jack, take the bait. Take it … _

"Well, as a general rule, guys don't like to be shot down when asking a girl out. So yes, it depends." It took all of his will power to suppress grinning like a dolt so he settled for a laugh.

"What makes you think I'll say no?"

"What makes me think you'll say yes?"

"Are we really going into this?"

"I don't know, are we?" Hesitating for a mere second, the doctor grinned and responded, "Yeah, no. Come on you'll love it." Walking over a couple of rocks, he led the way to their supposed 'date'.

(x)

Jack had led them to an apple field; it was a couple of minutes away from the caves and as far as she could tell, no one had discovered it yet. It was between the two, their secret apple patch. "Jack? You ready? Here it comes!"

Thump.

A cry of pain rose from below and Kate peered over the branch to get a glance at Jack. His back was facing her and the apple lay beside his foot obviously from bouncing off his shoulder. A surprised laugh escaped her lips as she stared down at him. "You okay?"

"Ow. Next time a heads up would be nice." His arm came around and rubbed at the reddening spot just to the left of his clavicle. Jack bent down and picked the round apple up, inspecting it. "Did you use to work on a farm as well? These are great." Hungry, he scrubbed the apple against his shirt and took a large bite, savoring the sweet juice leaking down his throat. After taking another bite, his arm arched under and chucked the bitten fruit to Kate.

"Actually ye – Hey! We were supposed to bring them back, not eat them all." She caught the apple against her chest, took a bite from it and noticed the stem still intact. "You forgot the stem!"

"What?"

"You forgot the stem!" As she did when she was young, Kate liked to twist the apple stem over and over, counting the alphabet as she went, waiting until it broke off; signifying the beginning of your next love's name. It was an old game and she knew it was silly but the tradition brought a smile to her face as she began to twist. _A … B … C … D … E … F … G … H … _She held her breath as it approached closer and closer to J. _I … J…_

_

* * *

_Disclaimer -- I do not own anything, blah blah blah. I dislike the ending but ... yeah. (:_  
_


End file.
